Jamie Corley, co-founder of the Bridge online newsletter, updates her webpage in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Launched in November, the start-up site aims to bring the tech industry and the political world closer together. less

Jamie Corley, co-founder of the Bridge online newsletter, updates her webpage in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Launched in November, the start-up site aims to bring the tech industry and the ... more

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Jamie Corley, co-founder of the Bridge online newsletter, updates her webpage in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Launched in November, the start-up site aims to bring the tech industry and the political world closer together. less

Jamie Corley, co-founder of the Bridge online newsletter, updates her webpage in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Launched in November, the start-up site aims to bring the tech industry and the ... more

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Despite politics, Silicon Valley and Trump both love disruption

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Diplomacy is the art of finding common ground with an opponent, perhaps through a shared set of values.

By that definition, top Silicon Valley leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, and President-elect Donald Trump would seem to have their work cut out for them Wednesday when they meet in New York.

But there is something that binds Silicon Valley and Trump together. The region’s leaders and the incoming president pride themselves on upending conventional wisdom and disrupting entrenched institutions, whether we’re speaking of industries and business models (Silicon Valley) or politics and government (Trump).

When you think about it, Trump’s successful campaign is the kind of story Silicon Valley loves.

“Donald Trump took a product, and in a relatively lean way scaled it across the country against all odds,” said Jamie Corley, a former top aide to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn. “That is what every Silicon Valley person wants to do.”

Trump may like to disrupt things, but so far he has demonstrated no underlying ideology or consistency to his actions.

“Disruption for the sake of disruption” does not make sense, said Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, a former top Google executive who founded video e-commerce startup Joyus in San Francisco.

She also said that Trump’s rhetoric suggests he is not necessarily supportive of things crucial to Silicon Valley’s success, such as a diverse workforce supplemented by the country’s ability to import highly skilled labor from other nations.

“There are principles by which you disrupt,” said Kate Mitchell, co-founder and partner of Scale Venture Partners in Foster City. “We believe in a meritocracy in which there is opportunity for everyone. If you want to disrupt, you want as many as ideas as possible.”

For all of its flaws, Silicon Valley has publicly declared its lofty aspirations like curing diseases, ending poverty, connecting people and saving the environment, Mitchell said. It’s not yet clear what Trump wants, other than the vague promise to restore America’s greatness.

Trump’s election also makes clear an uncomfortable truth for many in Silicon Valley: that the region never had much of a relationship with Washington anyway, even with tech-friendly leaders like President Obama in charge.

Part of the reason is that Silicon Valley companies are still relative novices at the influence game. The lack of experience has led to some fundamental misconceptions between Silicon valley and Washington, said Corley.

“Silicon Valley thinks D.C. is allergic to innovation,” she said.

Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation research group in Washington, is even more blunt.

“Silicon Valley has this attitude that ‘they just don’t get it,’” Atkinson said. “That’s the height of arrogance. The valley needs to grow up.”

In fact, Silicon Valley needs to realize that this kind of elitism has fueled the same popular anger that got Trump elected in the first place, Atkinson said.

That kind of disconnect has isolated Silicon Valley from the rest of the country. The region has often talked about the need to provide more math and science training to women and minority groups such as blacks and Hispanics. But we do not hear as often the need to help white men who work in the Rust Belt find new jobs.

Silicon Valley has an obligation to do more for those people, Singh said.

“Silicon Valley wants to help the world, and that should include everybody, including people in our own country,” Singh said.

Basheer Janjua, CEO of Integnology in Santa Clara and founder of the CTO Forum, a group of technology leaders, says Silicon Valley could use a fresh start with Washington, and Trump’s newness could serve as the vehicle.

At the same time, Trump could use Silicon Valley’s help — whether attitude or expertise — to reinvent government. Many presidents have promised to do so, but they have nearly always failed, Janjua said.

“Institutions are institutions, no matter if they’re public or private,” he said. “What is the most innovative thing the government has done over the last 10, 15 years?

“In this case, the disrupter is Mr. Trump. He is an efficient execution machine. And he is running the biggest inefficiency we have ever created. It’s called the U.S. government.”